Deal to end Monsanto pollution lawsuit in Oregon

Monsanto will pay Oregon a lump sum of $698 million for its role in polluting the state with PCBs over a 90-year period, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said Thursday. It's the largest environmental damage recovery in Oregon's history, Rosenblum said. PCB pollution-related settlements are becoming increasingly common, but Rosenblum said Oregon's settlement is "magnitudes larger" than any other state PCB settlement with Monsanto.

Bayer, the German pharmaceutical and biotechnology company that now owns Monsanto, said in a statement that the settlement over "legacy Monsanto PCB products" fully resolves all Oregon's claims and releases the company from any future liability. The Oregon agreement contains no admission of liability or wrongdoing by the company, the statement said.